Carnsore Point - the Birth of the Irish Environmental Movement

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The late 1970s witnessed the birth of a countrywide environmental movement based on opposition to the Irish government’s proposals to build Ireland’s first nuclear power station which was to be located at Carnsore Point in Wexford. 

The oil crisis of 1973 was the catalyst for this policy. Anti-nuclear groups spring up across the country to campaign against this decision with many members drawn from third level colleges. Students from UCG joined this new anti-nuclear movement including members of the UCG Friends of the Earth.

Environmentalists organised a series of highly successful concerts at Carnsore Point from 1978 to 1981 that featured many of the country’s top folk and rock musicians including Christy Moore, Barry Moore, Clannad and Andy Irvine.